Chapter 4

Elena's POV

The hotel room was too quiet. Even the low hum of the air conditioning sounded jarring. The only loud sound was my own quick, ragged breathing.

After hanging up, I was curled up at the foot of the bed, my fingers digging into the carpet fibers, my palms slick with sweat.

The phone, tossed onto the bed, vibrated again.

The screen lit up—it was Pheisar's private number.

I stared at the display, my head buzzing. My instinct was to just turn it off.

I hesitated for two seconds, then hit the answer button.

"You want to quit?" he asked slowly. "Fine."

I was stunned. I pushed myself up from the floor. "What did you say?"

"I said, fine." Pheisar's tone instantly sharpened like a knife's edge. "You want to use your resignation to threaten me? I'll allow it. But you have to come to Nebula Nightclub."

My heart plummeted.

Nebula Nightclub—that was Pheisar's favorite private spot, where he and other Alphas and corporate elites went to unwind.

The women who showed up there were all working girls.

He wanted me to go to that place. He just wanted to kick me one last time.

"Tell your assistant," I said coldly, "I'll mail you the signed documents."

He let out a cold laugh. "I'm not asking for your opinion. You have thirty minutes. If you don't show up at Nebula—I'll destroy the pendant."

Then, he hung up.

The phone vibrated again the next second.

I clicked on the message. It was a photo.

The background was the dim light of a VIP booth. A large, well-defined hand rested casually on a leather sofa armrest, fingers toying with a pendant.

It was my last remaining memento of my bloodline and wolf soul, left to me before my parents died.

Now, he was using it as leverage to force me out.

Half an hour later, I pushed open the door to the Nebula booth. The strong smell of alcohol mixed with the suffocating pheromones of high-ranking wolves instantly hit me, making me instinctively recoil.

"You came?" Pheisar swirled the crystal glass in his hand. Ice clinked against the glass. His voice carried a certain careless mockery. "Elena, you actually learned to threaten me with quitting."

In his eyes, everything I did, even breaking up, was just a means to get his attention.

"Since you want to leave so badly," he leaned forward, his Alpha aura instantly turning sharp. "I'll let you go. Kalen, give her a pen."

"Sign it," he commanded coldly. "Sign this, and you're completely out of the Nightshade Group. After this, even if you beg me on your knees at the door, I won't let you back in."

"Okay." I took the pen without any hesitation. I signed my name at the end of the rows of cold clauses.

I pushed the document back and looked straight into his eyes. "Give me back my pendant."

Pheisar's pupils suddenly constricted. The confident mockery froze on his face, quickly morphing into a raw, offended fury.

"Fine," he gritted out, sweeping the signed document onto the floor. "Since the business is finished, let's settle our personal accounts."

He slammed the pendant he had been toying with down hard on the table.

He pointed at the frail-looking Selene in his arms, his voice sharp. "Apologize to Selene for ordering those rogues to attack her! That was a vicious act!"

"I didn't." I stared fiercely at the amulet, my nails digging into my palms.

"Still lying!" Pheisar's patience was completely gone. My immediate signature must have stung his arrogant pride. He desperately needed another way to regain control and humiliate me.

"Those bastards confessed that you ordered them after they were caught! If Dominic hadn't happened to pass by and rescue Selene, she could have been sexually assaulted! And you're still playing innocent?"

Selene whimpered appropriately in his arms. "Pheisar, it's okay... Elena probably just hates me too much... Just give her back the pendant..."

"See, she's even pleading for you!" Pheisar laughed in furious disbelief.

He pointed at a row of unopened bottles of hard vodka on the table. "You don't want to apologize? Fine. Drink all of these, and I'll consider it atonement. You can take your pendant."

I looked at the bottles of liquor—enough to be lethal. My stomach already started cramping with phantom pain.

He knew it. Four years ago, I took a serious hit to the stomach shielding him from a drink. The doctor said hard liquor could kill me. Back then, he held me and swore to protect me. Now, he was the one pushing it toward me.

I laughed, tears stinging my eyes.

Lyra let out a sound of pure, desperate anguish deep in my mind, but I blocked the pain.

I walked up, grabbed a bottle, and tipped it back.

The fiery liquid burned my esophagus like lava. But I didn't stop. One bottle. Two bottles...

Just as I reached for the third, Pheisar seemed to snap, enraged by my defiance. He violently swiped the bottle from my hand. "Take your junk and get out!"

He grabbed the pendant from the table and threw it hard at me.

The sharp edge of the silver amulet cut my temple. Blood instantly streamed down, blurring my vision.

I ignored the pain. I frantically lunged forward, grabbing the amulet and clutching it tightly in my hand, as if holding onto the last bit of my life.

I stumbled to my feet. I didn't even dare wipe the blood that ran into my eye. I searched for the door through my blurry vision.

In that fleeting moment, I actually saw a look of pain in Pheisar's eyes. He took a step toward me.

"Ah! Pheisar..." A panicked scream from Selene suddenly erupted behind me.